Childhood is the foundation stone upon which stands the whole life structure. The seed sown in childhood blossoms into the tree of life. The education which is imparted in childhood is more important than the education which is received in colleges and universities. In the process of human growth, proper guidance along with environmental learning is important.
Spiritual practices, undertaken at an early age, have a profound and long-lasting effect. Human beings have tremendous potential provided they are taught to train themselves on all levels—physical, mental, and spiritual. Let us teach our children how to become aware of themselves on all levels. With a calm and one-pointed mind, children can obtain a glimpse of true peace and happiness.
Every human being has potentials for healing. The healing energy is flowing without any interruption in every human heart. By the right use of the dynamic will, these channels of healing energy can be directed to the suffering part of the body and mind. The healing energy can nourish and strengthen the sufferer. The key to healing is selflessness, love, dynamic will, and undivided devotion to the Lord within.
Actually, it is not necessary to renounce the objects of the world, because a human being does not actually own or possess anything. Therefore it is not necessary to renounce anything—but the sense of possessiveness should be renounced.
One evening after my brother disciple and I had walked thirty miles in the mountains, we stopped to rest two miles beyond Kedarnath. I was very tired and soon fell asleep, but my sleep was restless because of my extreme fatigue. It was cold and I did not have a blanket to wrap around me, so I put my hands around my neck to keep warm. I rarely dream. I had dreamt only three or four times in my life, and all of my dreams had come true. That night I dreamt that the devil was choking my throat with strong hands. I felt as though I were suffocating. When my brother disciple saw my breath rhythm change and realized that I was experiencing considerable discomfort, he came to me and woke me up. I said, Somebody was choking my throat! Then he told me that my own hands were choking my throat. That which you call the devil is part of you. The myth of the devil and of evil is imposed on us by our ignorance. The human mind is a great wonder and magician. It can assume the form of both a devil and a divine being any time it wishes. It can be a great enemy or a great friend, creating either hell or heaven for us. There are many tendencies hidden in the unconscious mind which must be uncovered, faced, and transcended before one intends to tread the path of enlightenment.
A perfect human being is one who has attained the state of samadhi.
What good does it do to have all the riches of the world and all the world's pleasures? They will all disappear in the flash we call a human lifetime. Focusing on the pleasures of the world keeps the mind too distracted to search for the inner Self.
All human beings have inner potentials, but many people are not aware of those potentials and do not know how to use them to have a successful life. Those who are not happy internally can never be happy externally; those who are not happy within themselves can never make others happy. Those who do not love themselves can never love others.
Strive instead for one goal, and that is to understand your self; know how to know the self. If you do not know yourself and you are trying to know God, it is not possible to do so. Don’t hanker after God; know about yourself first. You are fully equipped to know yourself; you have all the means and tools to do so. You are not searching for something outside yourself that is difficult to find. You are searching for someone who is already within you, so it is actually easy to find. The day that you see the source face to face, you have accomplished your work as a human being—that is your human endeavor.
Those who are religiously sick believe in the existence of the devil by forgetting the existence of God. A negative mind is the greatest devil that resides within the human being. Transformation of the negativity leads toward positive or angelic visions. It is the mind which creates hell and heaven. Fear of the devil is a phobia which needs to be eradicated from the human mind.